Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Solomon builds his own house, and the house of the queen, and the house of the forest of Lebanon; then, at verse 15, he fabricates two columns, and at verse 23, the bronze sea, and at verse 38, ten lavers, and the other vessels of the temple.
Vulgate Text: 3 Kings 7:1-51
1. Now Solomon built his own house in thirteen years, and brought it to complete perfection. 2. He also built the house of the forest of Lebanon, one hundred cubits in length, fifty cubits in width, and thirty cubits in height; and four corridors between cedar columns: for he had cut cedar wood into columns. 3. And he covered the entire vaulted chamber with cedar panels, which was supported by forty-five columns. Now one row had fifteen columns, 4. placed opposite one another, 5. and facing each other, with equal spacing between the columns, and upon the columns were square beams, equal in all dimensions. 6. And he made a portico of columns, fifty cubits in length and thirty cubits in width, and another portico in front of the larger portico, with columns and architraves upon the columns. 7. He also made a portico of the throne, in which was the tribunal; and he covered it with cedar wood from the pavement to the summit. 8. And the small chamber, in which he sat for judging, was in the middle of the portico, of similar workmanship. He also made a house for the daughter of Pharaoh (whom Solomon had taken as wife) of such workmanship as this portico. 9. All of precious stones, which were sawn to a certain standard and measure both on the inside and the outside, from the foundation to the top of the walls, and on the outside to the great court. 10. The foundations were of precious stones, great stones of ten or eight cubits. 11. And above, precious stones of equal measure were cut, and likewise of cedar. 12. And the great court was round about, of three rows of cut stones, and one row of polished cedar, as also in the inner court of the house of the Lord, and in the portico of the house. 13. King Solomon also sent and brought Hiram from Tyre, 14. the son of a widow woman of the tribe of Naphtali, his father a Tyrian, a worker in bronze and full of wisdom, and understanding, and skill for making every work in bronze. And when he had come to King Solomon, he made all his work. 15. And he cast two bronze columns, eighteen cubits in height for one column, and a line of twelve cubits encompassed each column. 16. He also made two capitals, which were to be placed upon the tops of the columns, cast in bronze: five cubits the height of one capital, and five cubits the height of the other capital; 17. and as it were in the fashion of a net, and of chains woven together with one another in wondrous work. Each capital of the columns was cast: seven rows of network on one capital, and seven rows of network on the other capital. 18. And he completed the columns, and two rows around each of the networks, to cover the capitals that were above the top of the pomegranates; he did the same for the second capital. 19. Now the capitals that were upon the tops of the columns were fashioned as with lily-work in the portico, of four cubits. 20. And again other capitals at the top of the columns above, according to the measure of the column, opposite the networks; and there were two hundred pomegranates in rows around the second capital. 21. And he set up the two columns in the portico of the temple; and when he had set up the right column, he called it by the name Jachin: likewise he erected the second column, and called its name Booz. 22. And upon the tops of the columns he placed work in the form of a lily, and the work of the columns was completed. 23. He also made a molten sea, ten cubits from brim to brim, round in circumference: its height was five cubits, and a cord of thirty cubits encompassed it round about.
24. And a carving beneath the brim went around it, ten cubits encompassing the sea: two rows of carved striations were cast. 25. And it stood upon twelve oxen, of which three faced the North, and three the West, and three the South, and three the East; and the sea was upon them above, and all their hinder parts were hidden within. 26. Now the thickness of the basin was three hand-breadths: and its brim was like the brim of a cup, and like the leaf of an open lily; it held two thousand baths. 27. And he made ten bronze bases, four cubits the length of each base, and four cubits the width, and three cubits the height. 28. And the work of the bases was intercut; and there were carvings between the joints. 29. And between the wreaths and the interweavings were lions, and oxen, and cherubim; and upon the joints likewise above; and beneath the lions and oxen, as it were straps of bronze hanging down. 30. And there were four wheels for each base, and bronze axles; and at the four corners, as it were small shoulders beneath the laver, cast, facing one another. 31. The mouth of the laver also was on the inside, at the top of the capital: and what appeared on the outside was one cubit, all round, and likewise it measured one cubit and a half; and at the corners of the columns were various engravings: and the middle spaces between the columns were square, not round. 32. And there were also four wheels, which were at the four corners of the base, joined together beneath the base: one wheel was a cubit and a half in height. 33. And such wheels were as are usually made for a chariot: and their axles, and spokes, and rims, and hubs were all cast. 34. For those four small shoulders at each corner of each base were cast from the base itself and joined to it. 35. And at the top of the base there was a certain roundness of half a cubit, so fashioned that the laver could be placed upon it from above, having its own engravings, and various carvings from itself. 36. He also carved on those panels which were of bronze, and in the corners, cherubim, and lions, and palms, as if in the likeness of a man standing, so that they appeared not engraved, but set round about. 37. In this manner he made ten bases, of one casting, and one measure, and of similar carving. 38. He also made ten bronze lavers: one laver held forty baths, and was four cubits: and he placed each laver upon each of the ten bases. 39. And he set up ten bases, five on the right side of the temple, and five on the left; and he placed the sea on the right side of the temple, facing East toward the South. 40. So Hiram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basins, and completed all the work of King Solomon in the temple of the Lord. 41. The two columns, and the two bowl-shaped capitals on the tops of the columns, and the two networks to cover the two bowl-shaped capitals that were on the tops of the columns, 42. And the pomegranates, four hundred in the two networks: two rows of pomegranates in each network, to cover the bowl-shaped capitals that were upon the tops of the columns. 43. And the ten bases, and the ten lavers upon the bases. 44. And the one sea, and the twelve oxen beneath the sea. 45. And the pots, and the shovels, and the basins: all the vessels that Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of the Lord were of burnished bronze. 46. The king cast them in the plain region of the Jordan, in the clay ground, between Succoth and Zarethan. 47. And Solomon placed all the vessels; but on account of the exceedingly great multitude, the weight of the bronze was not determined. 48. And Solomon made all the vessels in the house of the Lord: the golden altar, and the table upon which the showbread was placed, of gold; 49. and golden candlesticks, five on the right and five on the left, before the oracle, of pure gold; and like lily flowers, and golden lamps above, and golden tongs; 50. and pitchers, and forks, and bowls, and mortars, and censers, of the purest gold; and the hinges of the doors of the inner house of the Holy of Holies, and of the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold. 51. And he completed all the work that Solomon was making in the house of the Lord, and he brought in the things that David his father had sanctified, the silver and the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.
Verse 1: Solomon Built His Own House in Thirteen Years
NOW SOLOMON BUILT HIS OWN HOUSE IN THIRTEEN YEARS. — Solomon built three houses in these thirteen years, namely his own house, the house of the daughter of Pharaoh the queen, and the house of the forest of Lebanon, as is clear from verses 2 and 8; for that these three houses were distinct is clear from what follows. And so think Lyranus, Abulensis, Cajetan, Dionysius, Hugo, Vatablus, and others generally. Yet these three houses, in 3 Kings 12:10, and 2 Paralipomenon 8:1, are called one house, because they were contiguous and connected, so that they seemed to be not so much three houses as three parts or three members of one and the same house. For thus the palace of a king or of a Pope comprises within itself many dwelling places, and as it were many palaces. So Josephus, Villalpando, Pineda, and others.
Moreover, just as David had built his royal house on the western part of Mount Zion next to the temple, so Solomon built his palace on the eastern part of the same Mount Zion next to the temple, both so that the temple and all of Mount Zion might be fortified by these two houses as by two citadels; and so that from them he might defend the city of Jerusalem lying below them, to keep it under control; and also so that he might easily approach the temple, and offer sacrifice and worship to God.
IN THIRTEEN YEARS. — The royal house was built in more years, and therefore more slowly than the temple; for the temple was completed in seven years, as was said in chapter 6:37. The first cause was the devotion and fervor of Solomon pressing on the work of the temple, as the house of God; the second, because David had already prepared all the material and expenses for the construction of the temple; the third, because the people more eagerly aided and advanced the building of the temple. So Josephus. Add that Solomon built three houses in these thirteen years, namely his own, the queen's, and that of the forest of Lebanon. So Abulensis.
Verse 2: The House of the Forest of Lebanon
2. HE ALSO BUILT THE HOUSE OF THE FOREST OF LEBANON. — This house was arranged for elegance, pleasantness, and recreation. But why is it called the house of the "forest," or wood, "of Lebanon?" I answer first, because it was in a wooded place on Mount Zion, and surrounded with trees and gardens like Lebanon. For "forest" properly means a denser and impassable woodland, because there the trees spring up, where cattle are accustomed to spend the summer and graze, says Valla, book IV. Hence 2 Paralipomenon 9:16, where we have "and the king placed them (the shields) in the armory, which was planted with a grove;" the Hebrews and the Septuagint have: he placed the shields in the house of the forest of Lebanon. For in this house Solomon stored military arms, and there was his armory. Second, because this house was constructed from the wood of Lebanon. So Abulensis and Serarius. Third, because by its groves, pleasantness, greenness, and shade it resembled the appearance of Lebanon. Fourth, because by the multitude of cedar columns it imitated the cedars of Lebanon. So Theodoret. Fifth, because from it Lebanon could be seen, and its breeze and coolness could be caught and enjoyed in summertime. So Arias. Hence Josephus and the Chaldean call it the house of refreshment. Therefore William, Bishop of Tyre, in book XVIII of the Holy War, wrongly thinks this house was called "the forest of Lebanon" because it was built on Mount Lebanon. For it was situated in Jerusalem, on Mount Zion.
AND FOUR CORRIDORS BETWEEN CEDAR COLUMNS. — Note: The house of the forest of Lebanon had these four corridors below, or underneath it, arranged so that below, extended lengthwise, there were three rows of columns set between the two walls of the house: for from the intermediate spaces four corridors necessarily arose. Each row of columns had fifteen columns in length, equally arranged opposite the columns of the other two rows, so that between the three rows of columns there were two corridors, and a third was between one row of columns and the wall of the house on one side, and a fourth between the other row of columns and the wall on the other, opposite side. Therefore these corridors were as long as the house itself. See Abulensis, Question II and following.
Verse 3: He Covered the Chamber with Cedar Panels
3. AND HE COVERED THE ENTIRE CHAMBER WITH CEDAR PANELS. — He calls "chamber" the vault: for this is made with vaulted work, and it is the vaulting of the house itself.
Verse 6: A Portico of Columns
6. AND HE MADE A PORTICO OF COLUMNS FIFTY CUBITS IN LENGTH, AND THIRTY CUBITS IN WIDTH. — That is, so that the length of this portico was attached to the width of the house of the forest of Lebanon, which was also fifty cubits: but the width of the portico was attached to the length of the same house crosswise: whence it happened that the house, which was one hundred cubits in length, with these thirty cubits of the width of the portico added, became 130 cubits long.
AND ANOTHER PORTICO IN FRONT OF THE LARGER PORTICO, — that is to say, Solomon "in front of," that is before this larger portico adjoining the house of the forest (for this portico was as it were the entrance and vestibule of the house itself) made another smaller portico, proportioned as a gradual approach to the larger portico, for beauty and ornamentation.
Verse 7: The Portico of the Throne
7. HE ALSO MADE A PORTICO OF THE THRONE, IN WHICH WAS THE TRIBUNAL. — This is a third portico, not a vestibular one, but a judicial one, and therefore not annexed to the house of the forest of Lebanon, as the two previous ones just mentioned, but separate and standing on its own, though not far distant from the other two and from the house of the forest of Lebanon. This portico is called that "of the throne," because in it was Solomon's royal and judicial throne, surrounded by statues of lions, about which see chapter 10:18. So Abulensis and Pineda.
Verse 8: The Small Chamber for Judging
8. AND THE SMALL CHAMBER IN WHICH HE SAT FOR JUDGING WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PORTICO, — that is to say, in this third portico there was a small chamber, in which was the throne of Solomon already mentioned, beside which and around which were lower thrones or seats, in which the counselors and princes sat to judge with Solomon, as his assessors: from all of which the judicial tribunal was composed, consisting of multiple seats of judges, which was enclosed by a small chamber, and as it were covered, so that the assessors, when they wished to deliberate secretly with Solomon about some matter, or pronounce sentence, might be removed from the litigants and from the people, who walked about in the portico round about, or came to the court. Therefore this small chamber was a smaller building, constructed of cedar, and closed on every side, so as to contain only the king with his counselors, yet having its own door, through which litigants and others seeking their rights or some favor might approach the throne of the king, and from him might seek and obtain either justice or favor. Having also many windows, so that when these were opened, the king pronouncing sentence, or declaring the law, or proclaiming something else, might be seen and heard by all the people. For this was like the praetorium of Solomon. So Lyranus, Dionysius, Salianus, and Pineda, book VII, On the Affairs of Solomon, chapter 7.
HE ALSO MADE A HOUSE (palace) FOR THE DAUGHTER OF PHARAOH, — as for his principal wife and queen. The reason is given in 2 Paralipomenon 8:11, where it is said: "But he transferred the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David to the house that he had built for her. For the king said: My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because it has been sanctified, since the ark of the Lord has entered into it."
Verse 9: All of Precious Stones
9. ALL OF PRECIOUS STONES, — that is, they were made of marble, either Parian, or porphyritic, or ophite, that is serpentine, etc., for it would have been excessively costly to construct everything from gems in so vast a house, namely from emeralds, carbuncles, diamonds, etc. "Precious stone" therefore here means precious marble.
AND ON THE OUTSIDE (some wrongly read, on the inside) TO THE GREAT COURT. — From this it is clear that, besides the three porticoes already mentioned, there was in these houses of Solomon a great court, about which see verse 12; for the porticoes seem to have been made of the same precious stone or marble as the house itself, as this passage suggests.
Verse 11: Cedars Cut and Polished
11. AND LIKEWISE OF CEDAR, — that is to say, the cedars employed in the construction of Solomon's houses were cut and fitted to equal measure, just as the precious stones of the same houses had been cut.
Verse 12: The Great Court Round About
12. And the great court round about (in the houses of Solomon already mentioned in verse 9, understand: Solomon built), OF THREE ROWS OF CUT STONES, AND ONE ROW OF POLISHED CEDAR: AS ALSO IN THE INNER COURT OF THE HOUSE OF THE LORD, AND IN THE PORTICO OF THE HOUSE, — that is to say, just as Solomon in the inner court of the temple, that is in the court of the priests, made a wall having three rows of cut stones, and one of polished cedar, so that by this wall he might separate the inner court of the priests from the outer court of the laity, as was said in chapter 6:36; so he did precisely the same in the courts of the houses he had built, and in the portico.
You will say: The court of the priests, as well as that of the laity, was square, as I said at chapter 6, verse 36; how then is it here said to be round? I answer: It was square, consisting of seven square areas; yet it is called "round" because it was encompassed on all sides by the three rows of stones already mentioned. Hence for "round" the Hebrew has sabib, that is, "on all sides," or "in a circuit," which circuit here was square, not round. So Pineda, book V, chapter 46, at the end.
Verse 14: Hiram from Tyre, a Worker in Bronze
14. KING SOLOMON ALSO SENT AND BROUGHT HIRAM FROM TYRE, THE SON OF A WIDOW WOMAN OF THE TRIBE OF NAPHTALI, HIS FATHER A TYRIAN. — The phrase "of the tribe of Naphtali" should be referred not to the widow woman, but to Hiram the craftsman. For he was from the tribe of Naphtali, as is clear from the Hebrew, the Chaldean, and the Septuagint; but his mother was from the tribe of Dan, as is said in 2 Paralipomenon 2:13.
You will say: How then is the father of Hiram said to have been a Tyrian? I answer: Hiram by nationality was a Jew, namely a Naphtalite; but by residence and the practice of his craft he was a Tyrian. For he lived in Tyre, and there he had learned and practiced the art of skilled workmanship. So St. Jerome, the Hebrews, Lyranus, Cajetan, and others. Thus St. Paul is called a Tarsian, because he was born and raised in Tarsus, though by nation and descent he was a Hebrew.
Verse 15: Two Bronze Columns
15. AND HE CAST TWO BRONZE COLUMNS, — Booz and Jachin. These two columns of the temple, cast in bronze, are described here down to verse 23.
EIGHTEEN CUBITS IN HEIGHT FOR ONE COLUMN. — Understand this as referring to the shaft or trunk of the column, for in 2 Paralipomenon 3:15, each column is said to have been 35 cubits, namely by also adding and reckoning the size of the base, the capital, and the crown with which it was ornamented at the top. So Abulensis, Lyranus, and Cajetan. But these, in proper architectural proportion, cannot rise to such a height as nearly to equal the columns themselves. Therefore others answer better that each column, joined together, was 35 cubits: for although altogether it would be 36 cubits (for twice eighteen makes 36), yet in each one the middle cubit was inserted into its capital, and hidden in it so as not to appear. So Vatablus and Ribera, book II, On the Temple, chapter 12. Third, and most probably, Villalpando, book V, chapter 5, and following him Salianus, answer that each column with its base was seventeen and a half cubits, excluding the plinth which completed the eighteenth. The reason for excluding the plinth was that the rest of the column with its base was hollow, and therefore it was necessary for it to rest upon a solid plinth, and so the plinth had to be cast separately from the column; for the plinth is the lowest part of the base, which lies beneath the torus moldings, so called because its shape represents a plinthon, that is, a brick (whence in French they are also called plinthes); for a plinth is leveled in width like a board. Hence also in Vitruvius, book III, chapter 2, the plinthides of the torus moldings are the plinths of the bases. The plinth, therefore, that is the lowest part of the bases, is not counted here, because the architect prudently wished to cast it solid, so that it might more firmly support and hold the entire work of the column, which was hollow: each column therefore, joined together, was 35 cubits excluding the plinth, because each was seventeen and a half cubits high; for double these, and you will have 35 cubits.
AND A LINE OF TWELVE CUBITS ENCOMPASSED EACH COLUMN. — In Hebrew: and a thread of twelve cubits went around the second column: if the second, then also the first: for these two columns were entirely equal and matched. By "line," or, as it is in Hebrew, a thread, understand as a measure: for with a thread we measure the thickness of things, meaning: These columns had a measure of twelve cubits in their circumference and thickness: "line" therefore denotes the periphery, or circumference. Now Villalpando, and following him Salianus, hold that not one, but "each" column joined together had this twelve-cubit measure, so that half the line or thread of 12 cubits encompassed one column, and the other part of the thread the other: so that one column was six cubits thick, and the other likewise, and consequently both together were 12 cubits thick: for this is what symmetry and proportion require, since when each column was 18 cubits high, it should not be more than six cubits thick: for the height is triple the thickness.
But that each column was twelve cubits thick, Josephus and Jeremiah, chapter 52, verse 21, expressly teach, where, describing these columns carried off by the Chaldeans when they devastated Jerusalem, he says: "A cord of twelve cubits went around it," namely one column. So also the Septuagint here: And the perimeter, they say, a thread of twelve cubits encompassed it (the first column), and so the second column, namely it was likewise 12 cubits, etc., and the Chaldean: and a thread, he says, of twelve cubits encompassed it, and so the second column was made. Therefore these were not so much columns fabricated according to the symmetry and architectural proportion of columns, as masses and towers, or certain immense bronze citadels erected for the magnificence and fortification of the temple. Thus in Rome, the Column of Trajan (as also that of the Emperor Antoninus) is exceedingly thick like a tower, so much so that many men with arms outstretched cannot embrace it around its circumference. Hence also within it contains a spiral staircase, by which one ascends by steps from bottom to top. Finally, the ancients followed different principles and proportions in their constructions, different from those followed by Vitruvius and later architects. So Sanchez, Vatablus, Pagninus, and others.
Furthermore, Jeremiah adds that these columns were hollow inside, yet so that the thickness of the bronze on the outside was four fingers in circumference. Hence Villalpando, book V, chapter 37, weighing these measurements in just proportion according to his opinion, reckons that each of these columns weighed five thousand talents, and both together ten thousand talents. Eupolemus, cited by Eusebius, adds that Solomon covered the entire columns with gold to the thickness of one finger. From this Villalpando calculates that 95 million were spent on gilding these columns with gold.
Finally, if the column had 12 cubits of thickness in circumference, then in the diameter of this circumference or circle it had 4 cubits: for the diameter is a third part of the periphery or circle: for the circle contains the diameter three times, and in addition a seventh part of it; therefore between the diameter and the circle there is the proportion that exists between seven and twenty-two. So Abulensis, Ribera, Vatablus. Moreover, in the proportion and symmetry of thickness to height, the thickness is considered not so much of the circle, or circumference, as of the diameter. Since then this column in diameter was only 4 cubits thick, but 18 cubits high, the proportion between thickness and height was that between 4 and 18, which is sufficiently fair and fitting. For the proportions of columns are derived from the dimensions and proportions of human beings. And we see among men that some are slender but tall, while others are thick and short; because what nature gives to thickness, it takes from height: therefore similar to these was this column, thick and short. Add that this column, besides the 18 cubits of its shaft or trunk, also had 5 cubits of capital on top, which joined to 18 make 23, therefore each column was 23 cubits high.
Verse 17: Nets and Chains on the Capitals
17. AND AS IT WERE IN THE FASHION OF A NET AND OF CHAINS, etc., — that is to say, these capitals were encircled by certain bronze bands (says Josephus) in the fashion of a net or of chains, which had openings at intervals like rings and lattices, through which the elegance of the capitals might appear (for they were lily-shaped, says Josephus, or had the form of lilies).
SEVEN ROWS OF NETWORK ON ONE CAPITAL, — that is to say, the bands just mentioned went around each capital seven times, so that they made as it were seven rows or ranks and circles of bands: he therefore calls the circles "rows."
Verse 18: Two Rows of Networks Around the Capitals
18. AND HE COMPLETED THE COLUMNS, AND TWO ROWS AROUND EACH OF THE NETWORKS, TO COVER THE CAPITALS, — that is to say, each capital, and consequently each column, had two networks, or a double reticulated and latticed crown, which like a net encompassed the capital, and covered and adorned it. So Sanchez. Better, Ribera understands by "two rows of networks" two rows of pomegranates hanging from the networks. This is clear from the Hebrew and the Septuagint, which have: Two rows of bronze pomegranates woven with nets, suspended work, row upon row; and from Josephus, who says: "From there hung two series of pomegranates, two hundred in number." The meaning therefore is: each of the seven rows, or circles, of the network of each column had two rows of pomegranates: for one hundred pomegranates were placed and as it were inserted in the middle of each of the rows or circles, as is clear from 2 Paralipomenon chapter 3, verse 16; and the other one hundred pomegranates hung suspended alternately from those same rows or circles, so that two rows of pomegranates were joined to each network, as is said in 2 Paralipomenon chapter 4:13.
TO COVER THE CAPITALS THAT WERE ABOVE THE TOP OF THE POMEGRANATES, — that is to say, he made these two networks to cover and surround the capital, which networks were distributed into seven rows, or circles, above the top of the pomegranates: for the upper part of the row, or circle, was above the top of the suspended pomegranates, or of those hanging from the circle below. So Ribera, book II, chapter 14.
It is added in 2 Paralipomenon 3:16: "He also made" "as it were small chains in the Oracle," meaning: These bands of chains, or these chained networks, were such as those which had been fabricated in the Oracle, that is, in the Holy of Holies. So Ribera, book II, chapter 14. Otherwise Cajetan: "He made, he says, chains for the Oracle," that is, for a mystery and signification, namely so that those chains might signify and silently foretell the future captivity of that kingdom, that is, of Israel.
HE DID THE SAME FOR THE SECOND CAPITAL. — That is, for the capital of the second column.
Verse 19: Lily-Work on the Capitals
19. NOW THE CAPITALS THAT WERE UPON THE TOPS OF THE COLUMNS WERE FASHIONED AS WITH LILY-WORK, IN THE PORTICO, OF FOUR CUBITS. — This entire passage is very obscure and complex: hence it is explained variously by various authors, but to explain it briefly and clearly: Note that each of these two columns had three capitals; the first and lowest was that which was placed directly upon the shaft, or post and trunk of the column, whence it is properly called the epistyle, 2 Paralipomenon chapter 4, verse 12, and it was three cubits high, as is said in 4 Kings, last chapter, verse 17. The second capital was placed upon the lowest, that is, the epistyle, and was covered with the network already mentioned, in which the two rows of pomegranates were visible; above this second one stood the third capital. So Ribera.
In this verse 19, the lowest capital, or epistyle, is described. The meaning therefore is: In these two columns, the lowest capitals, which were upon the tops of the columns, that is, which rested upon the summit of the shaft or trunk of the columns, and are therefore called epistyles, were fashioned in the form of a lily, and this "in the portico of four cubits," that is, so that toward the portico, that is in width, not in height, they were four cubits: for in height they were only three cubits, as I said. Hence the Septuagint translate "in the portico" as "next to the vestibule." About the second capital, it has already been said at verses 16 and following, for around it was the network having two rows of pomegranates. About the third, or topmost, capital, it will be said in the next verse. Thus Vitruvius, and following him architects, place a triple capital upon columns, namely the epistyle, the frieze, and the cornice. The epistyle is the capital that is placed directly upon the post, or shaft, of the column. The frieze is that which is interposed between the epistyle and the cornice, which is often seen with cushion-shaped figures and furnished with various ornaments. The French call it la frise, just as here the second capital, like a frieze, was adorned with the networks of seven circles and with two rows of pomegranates. They call the cornice the crown of the capital itself.
Villalpando thinks these three capitals joined together were five cubits, as is said in verse 16, so that the epistyle was three cubits, as is found in 4 Kings, last chapter, verse 17, the frieze two cubits, and the cornice one. Others, however, attribute those five cubits to the second capital alone, as being the one that alone had the network, to which they add three cubits of the epistyle and some for the cornice. But in that case the capital would have been half the size of the column: for the column was only 18 cubits. Therefore, so that there may be a fitting proportion between the capitals and the column, it seems rather that all the capitals did not exceed the measure of five cubits, for these bear an architectural proportion to a column of 18 cubits.
Verse 20: Other Capitals with Pomegranates
20. AND AGAIN OTHER CAPITALS AT THE TOP OF THE COLUMNS ABOVE, ACCORDING TO THE MEASURE OF THE COLUMN, OPPOSITE THE NETWORKS. — Here the third, or topmost, capital is treated, which was like a crown added to the column, "opposite the networks," that is, above the networks and facing the networks, which capital was "according to the measure of the column," that is, it had the same thickness as the column, namely twelve cubits.
AND THERE WERE TWO HUNDRED POMEGRANATES IN ROWS AROUND THE SECOND CAPITAL, — for this second capital, as I said, was encompassed by a network, from which hung one hundred pomegranates, and the same number were inserted or interposed: for each network had two hundred pomegranates. The other column likewise had the same number of pomegranates in its second capital's network, namely two hundred. Therefore, both joined together, there were in total 400 pomegranates wrought from bronze, as is said in verse 42, and 2 Paralipomenon chapter 4, verse 13. Moreover, the hanging pomegranates precisely numbered only 96, but Scripture counts one hundred, to assign a whole or full number, and perhaps the remaining four were indeed there, but were covered and did not appear. For this is what is said in Jeremiah, last chapter, verse 23: "And there were ninety-six pomegranates hanging, and all the pomegranates were one hundred surrounded by the networks," that is, those which were interposed in the networks were one hundred; but the hanging ones were precisely not one hundred, but 96. So Ribera, book II, On the Temple, chapter 14.
Verse 21: He Set Up the Columns: Jachin and Boaz
21. AND HE SET UP TWO COLUMNS IN THE PORTICO OF THE TEMPLE, — which portico was the vestibule of the temple, and therefore was before the Sanctuary, namely interposed between the Sanctuary and the court of the priests, about which see chapter 6, verse 3, so that one column stood beside one door of the portico, and the other beside the other. So Villalpando. In the first, he says, threshold of the sanctuary he set them up on each side of the door of the holy hall. So also Salianus, Adrichomius, and others. Therefore some wrongly place these columns before the court of the priests, others before the court of the laity.
AND WHEN HE HAD SET UP THE RIGHT COLUMN, HE CALLED IT BY THE NAME JACHIN; LIKEWISE HE ERECTED THE SECOND COLUMN (on the left), AND CALLED ITS NAME BOOZ. — BOOZ and Jachin: Jachin in Hebrew means the same as direction and rectitude, from the root kun, that is, to direct. Hence the Septuagint in 2 Paralipomenon chapter 3, last verse, translate it katorthosis, that is, correction, direction, right disposition. Booz in Hebrew means the same as "in him is strength." Hence the Septuagint translate it ischus, that is, force and power. Some, like Bede, Abulensis, Vatablus, Ribera, think that Solomon meant the same thing by these two names "Jachin" and "Booz," namely that he wished for the stability and permanence of the temple. For "Jachin" also sometimes signifies firmness and strength. Better, Cajetan and others distinguish these two, and by "Jachin," that is direction, understand prudence and wisdom; by "Booz" however, strength and firmness; so that Solomon by "Jachin" signified that this temple was most elegantly built with wondrous skill and wisdom; and by "Booz" that it was most firmly founded, fortified, and established: and that by these same names he revealed his desire and prayer, saying: May God direct this temple of mine, as His own Jachin, and strengthen it as His own Booz, so that it may be overthrown by no enemy, by no thunderbolt. May God most long protect, direct, and confirm this temple of mine, or rather His own!
Again, the right column "Jachin," says Cajetan, signified the directive rule both of God over all creatures and men, but especially over the Israelites and their temple; and of the kings and kingdom of Israel: hence each column was crowned. The left column "Booz" signified the strength to execute those things which by "Jachin," that is, by directive rule, had been prudently ordered: for both are in God and in God's providence, which wisely and strongly governs all things: both are also necessary for kings. Solomon therefore gave thanks to God for both, and at the same time wished and prayed that God would show both in the guardianship of the temple and of the people and kingdom, and would communicate the same to himself and his successors for governing well.
Allegorically, these columns of the temple signify the wisdom as well as the firmness of the Church: for she herself is the pillar and foundation of the truth, as the Apostle alluding to this says, 1 Timothy chapter 3, verse 15. See what was said there. Therefore Jachin represents the Doctors and Rulers of the Church: for they teach and direct others on the path of virtue and salvation; Booz signifies the Martyrs and strong men. Hence St. Jerome, Bede, Eucherius, and Angelomus: The columns, they say, are the Apostles and Doctors, because by contemplation they are raised to heavenly things, and are strong in faith and work. They are two, because they support both Jews and Gentiles. They are before the doors of the temple, so that they may lead both into the temple, that is, into heaven. Again, they are two, so arranged as to teach us that in prosperity and adversity we must always keep the entrance to the heavenly homeland before the eyes of our mind, so that we may be cast down neither by adversity, nor lifted up by prosperity, but amid both, constant in faith and virtue, strive toward heaven. So the cited authors. The line of 12 cubits, says Bede, is the norm of Apostolic teaching. A capital is placed upon the column, because "he who perseveres to the end, and has competed lawfully, will be crowned," as the Apostle says: "For he who competes in the contest is not crowned unless he has competed lawfully."
The height of the capital is five cubits; because the crown is given for having bravely despised and overcome the pleasures of the five senses. The band encircling the capital is the blessedness that theologians call accidental: it encircles it seven times, because this blessedness arises from very many things, and there are many causes for rejoicing, for seven is used to stand for many.
Moreover, all the saints eminent in faith by their virtue are columns, bronze because of their firmness in good works, upright through their intention, tall through contemplation, striated or hollowed out through mortification, by which they restrain wicked appetites and thin themselves out through the mortification of the flesh, which hollowing can also be referred to humility. Second, the two capitals are the two Testaments, to the meditation and observance of which the holy Doctors are subject both in soul and body. Third, the appearance of chains and the likeness of a net on the capitals represents the variety of spiritual virtues in the saints. Fourth, the two hundred pomegranates signify their great and manifold charity, unity, concord, and zeal. Fifth, the capitals ended in the flower of a lily. For what is designated by the lily but eternal happiness and the pleasantness fragrant with the flowers of immortality, in which all the Saints ultimately end, and which they proclaim together with others, as if displaying it at the summit and proposing it as something to be merited. So Angelomus and Bede: "What, they say, is designated by the lilies but the brightness of the heavenly homeland and the pleasantness of paradise fragrant with the flowers of immortality."
See more details in Ribera, book II, On the Temple, chapter 15.
Verse 22: Lily-Work upon the Columns
22. AND UPON THE TOPS OF THE COLUMNS HE PLACED WORK IN THE FORM OF A LILY, — that is to say, upon the entire work of the columns and capitals he placed as a crowning piece a lily, or the form of a lily wrought from the same bronze, both to display the beauty of the temple, and to ask of God its flourishing, namely that in it piety and the worship of God might flourish, pure and chaste. For the lily is a symbol of purity and virginity, as well as of the glorious resurrection of Christ and the Saints, according to what the Church sings for the Martyrs in the Ecclesiastical Office: "The youth of the Saints shall be renewed like that of the eagle, and they shall flourish like the lily in the city of the Lord;" and in Paschal time: "Your Saints, O Lord, shall flourish like the lily, and shall be as the fragrance of balsam before You, Alleluia." And that saying of the Bridegroom: "I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys," Canticle 2:1. See what was said there; and Ecclesiasticus 39:19, and Hosea 14:6, where I said much about the symbols of lilies. Solomon therefore, placing a lily upon the temple, presented the purity, splendor, happiness, and eternal glory of Christ, the Blessed Virgin, and the Saints: for the temple was a figure of heaven, and of heavenly conversation, resurrection, and glory.
Tropologically, every faithful and holy person needs a double column to become a temple of God, namely Jachin, that is, prudent and right direction for discerning what must be done; and Booz, that is, strength for carrying it out. For prudence goes before like a light, showing the way of virtue and holiness, whence it occupies the right side: but strength follows as on the left, so that what prudence shows must be done, it may strongly bring to execution. Both are the work of Solomon, that is, of Christ; therefore they must be sought from Him by suppliant and constant prayers by everyone. For neither alone suffices, but if both are joined together, they accomplish all things, overcome all things, and raise a person to the summit of holiness and into heaven: for the Holy Spirit must direct us on the way of salvation, and then strengthen us, so that we may constantly pursue it through so many enemies, temptations, and difficulties. Hence Solomon, Proverbs 3:6: "in all your ways, he says, think on Him, and He will direct your steps." And his father David frequently asks the same in the Psalms, as Psalm 118:5: "Would that my ways may be directed to keep Your justifications." And verse 133: "Direct my steps according to Your word," Psalm 26, verse 11: "Direct me in the right path." Psalm 89:17: "Direct the work of our hands." And to Joshua, God says, chapter 1, verses 6, 7, and 9: "Be strong and be valiant" for conquering the Canaanites, "do not fear and do not be afraid, for the Lord your God is with you in all things wherever you shall go." And to David: "My arm shall strengthen him," Psalm 88, verse 22.
Verse 23: The Molten Sea, Ten Cubits
23. HE ALSO MADE A MOLTEN SEA, TEN CUBITS FROM BRIM TO BRIM, ROUND IN CIRCUMFERENCE. — Here he calls "sea" an immense basin, which held a great quantity of water, for washing the hands and feet of the priests (for they ministered barefoot in the temple) with water flowing from it. Hence in verses 26 and 31, it is called a "laver," that is, a washing place, from its purpose and use, but from its capacity it is here called a "sea," and that "molten," that is, cast from bronze. It was "round:" whence its diameter was ten cubits from brim to brim, that is, from one extremity of the periphery to the other opposite it: its height was five cubits.
Again, it rested upon twelve oxen wrought from bronze, which with their faces looked toward the four quarters of the world. Add that on this sea or basin were engraved images of Cherubim, lions, oxen, and palms. Finally, this sea was in the court of the priests next to the altar of holocausts, and corresponded to the bronze basin that Moses made from the mirrors of the women in the tabernacle, Exodus 30:18, where I showed that this basin, like the sea, did not so much represent baptism, as Eucherius and Angelomus hold (for this basin, like the sea, was not before the court, but in the court itself), as penance, which must precede for the faithful the sacrifice and sacrament of the Eucharist, as St. Gregory teaches, homily 17 on the Gospel, and Bede, book III, On the Tabernacle, last chapter. See Ribera applying each detail, book II, On the Temple, chapter 17. This basin, vast and full of water, and therefore called a "sea," signifies that the contrition and penance of a sinner should be copious and great, which should pour forth rivers of tears if not from the eyes, certainly from the heart, according to that saying: "Great as the sea is your contrition," Lamentations 2:13.
AND A CORD (in Hebrew queh, that is, a line; in Chaldean, a thread, which our Translator calls a small cord, that is, a small rope or measuring string) OF THIRTY CUBITS ENCOMPASSED IT ROUND ABOUT, — that is to say, this sea, or bronze basin, could be encompassed and measured around with a cord of thirty cubits, that is, in its perimeter or circumference it contained thirty cubits. For the circumference of a circle is triple the diameter: therefore since the diameter of this basin was ten cubits, as I said, it follows that its periphery or circumference was thirty cubits.
Abulensis notes that the circumference was precisely thirty cubits and one and a half, because the circumference contains the diameter three times, and in addition a seventh part of the diameter: but Scripture, according to its custom, omits and suppresses the smaller number. Hence Josephus says this basin was in the form and appearance of a half-sphere, or more precisely, as the Greek has it, a hemisphere.
Verse 24: Carvings Beneath the Brim of the Sea
24. AND A CARVING BENEATH THE BRIM WENT AROUND IT, TEN CUBITS ENCOMPASSING THE SEA, — that is to say, at the top, immediately below the brim of the sea or basin, there was a certain carving encircling the sea, not the whole of it, but about a third part of it, which was ten cubits: and this carving consisted of two rows of striated carvings, about which the text immediately continues. So Ribera. Otherwise Cajetan and Abulensis, who by "beneath the brim" understand the lower part of the basin, which was ten cubits, so that this carving encompassed all of that part.
TWO ROWS OF STRIATED CARVINGS WERE CAST, — that is to say, the carving just mentioned consisted of two rows of striated carvings made from cast bronze. "Striated," this is the correct reading with the Hebrew and the Roman text, not "histriate," as the Royal codices read, nor "historiated," as though histories were depicted there, as others read and wish. "Striated" therefore, that is, having striations: and striations are small channels or grooves that are drawn through wood or bronze for elegance, so that one part projects and another recedes, such as we see in Rome on the columns of the Basilica of St. Peter cast from bronze. So Ribera and others, as well as Vitruvius, book VI, last chapter; hence Apuleius calls a striated forehead a contracted and wrinkled one, as if making grooves from sadness.
Verse 25: Twelve Oxen Beneath the Sea
25. AND IT STOOD UPON TWELVE OXEN — which with their front part, that is, with their faces, three each looked toward the four quarters of the world, but with their rear part they were hidden, that is, concealed beneath the basin that they supported. Allegorically, the 12 oxen are the twelve Apostles, who by the command of Christ preached faith and penance throughout all the quarters of the world.
Verse 26: The Thickness of the Basin
26. NOW THE THICKNESS OF THE BASIN WAS THREE HAND-BREADTHS. — "Of the basin," that is, of the laver; for in Greek louo means "I wash"; hence loutron is a laver. "Of the basin" therefore, that is, of the bronze sea already mentioned, as is clear from the Hebrew, the Chaldean, and the Septuagint. Therefore Adrichomius wrongly distinguishes the laver from the bronze sea, and places the laver to the North, but the bronze sea to the South in the court of the priests, so that between the two was the altar of holocausts, claiming that in the laver the victims were washed, and in the bronze sea the priests themselves. But for both purposes the bronze sea together with the ten lavers, about which see verse 27, sufficed. The meaning therefore is: The thickness of the bronze sea was three hand-breadths, that is, four fingers, or a palm, as the Septuagint translate, that is, three inches, which is a quarter of a foot, or a palm's thickness: for an inch is a twelfth part of a foot, and a foot contains sixteen fingers: therefore three inches are a quarter of a foot, namely four fingers. This is what is said in 2 Paralipomenon 4:5: "its thickness" had "the measure of a palm."
AND ITS BRIM WAS LIKE THE BRIM OF A CUP, AND LIKE THE LEAF OF AN OPEN LILY, — that is to say, the brim or lip of the bronze sea was like the brim of a cup, and like an open, that is, spread out and recurved lily. For "repandum" (open, bent back) means the same as recurved and sinuous, and that which is spread backwards. Thus a repanda neck is one that is curved; a repandum chest or back is curved. Hence Pliny, book XIV, chapter 22: "To this pertains, he says, the display of the broad, backward-curving neck."
Mystically, Eucherius and Angelomus say: "By the brim of the cup, the taste of the Lord's passion is expressed, and by the leaf of the open lily, the revealed brightness of His resurrection." For by both we are washed in the laver of baptism and penance. For, as Eucherius says: Christ, "who before His passion was as yet like a closed lily: when by the signs of the miracles He performed He shone forth as a renowned man, but after His resurrection and ascension He showed Himself as an open lily to the citizens of the heavenly homeland, because in His assumed humanity He displayed the power of divine brightness, which He had with the Father before the world existed. Hence in the Canticle of love He wished to designate Himself by the word 'lily,' saying: I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys. The brim therefore of the sea in which the priests were washed was like the brim of a cup, and the leaf of an open lily: because the saving laver by which we are made members of the chief priest, in faith purifies us from the stain of all sins through His most sacred passion, and introduces the purified to the vision of His everlasting glory."
IT HELD TWO THOUSAND BATHS. — A bath, an ephah, and a metretes are equal, and are a tenth part of a cor, Ezekiel 45:11, namely it was a measure containing three modii: for a cor contained ten times more, namely 30 modii. The bath was a measure for liquids, just as the ephah was for dry goods, containing as much as a Roman amphora, namely 48 sextarii, that is 960 ounces of water, as Alcazar proves at length, Tract. On Measures, prop. 14; although Villalpando makes the bath much larger. You will say: in 2 Paralipomenon 4:5, the bronze sea is said to have held three thousand metretae, that is baths. I answer with Villalpando, Alcazar, and others, that the bath was of two kinds, a larger and a smaller; the larger was one and a half times the other, so that two larger equaled three smaller. Now Villalpando reckons the larger bath contained 108 sextarii, the smaller 72; but Alcazar, Tract. On Measures, prop. 14, reckons these baths were not the common ones, but extraordinary and smaller, and so this bath was only a tenth part of the standard bath. Again, that these baths were of two kinds, namely a larger and a smaller, so that the larger was one and a half times the smaller. Now a tenth part of a bath is a gomer, or assaron, which contains 96 ounces, that is eight pounds of twelve ounces. Therefore Alcazar thinks the bronze sea held 208 Roman amphorae, while Villalpando attributes to it 4,500 Roman amphorae. But just as Villalpando's measure is excessively large and immense, so Alcazar's is too small and too meager to be called a sea. Therefore I think one should not depart from the ordinary and common measure of the bath, and I say the bath here should be taken as the common one, which was equal to a Roman amphora, containing 48 sextarii and 960 ounces, which make 80 pounds. Therefore this sea, holding two thousand baths, held two thousand Roman amphorae, that is ninety-six thousand sextarii, or one hundred sixty thousand pounds of water. These are the larger baths numbering two thousand, which are equivalent to three thousand smaller baths: for they stand to each other as two to three: therefore the smaller bath contained only 640 ounces, which make 52 pounds and 4 ounces, as is clear to anyone computing the proportion of each and comparing them.
Cajetan and Ribera answer differently, namely that the bronze sea held only two thousand baths if filled in the ordinary way to a moderate level; but if filled to the very highest brim, it held three thousand baths: and this is what the Hebrew machaziq means, 2 Paralipomenon 4:5, for machaziq means the same as "when strongly" or fully filling it, it held three thousand baths. For the upper rim, because it was very wide, could easily hold a thousand baths in its small border of a few fingers. For the Book of Paralipomenon is a supplement to the Book of Kings, for it supplies ta paraleipomena, that is, what was left out and omitted in them. Hence it often records a larger number. So Vatablus.
Verse 27: Ten Bronze Bases
27. AND HE MADE TEN BRONZE BASES. — For the ten lavers, which were supported by these bases. This is clear from verse 38, and 2 Paralipomenon 4:6, where it is said: "He also made ten basins, and placed five on the right and five on the left, so that they might wash in them all things that they were going to offer in holocaust: but the priests were washed in the sea." The lavers therefore were large basins, or tubs and bowls, in which the priests washed the victims already skinned, and their flesh cut up, so that once washed they might be placed on the altar of holocausts to be offered to God and burned: in the bronze sea, however, the priests alone washed their hands and feet: for although the Nethinim had first washed the victims to be sacrificed in the Probatica (Sheep) Pool before they were brought into the temple, they nevertheless washed the animals whole and alive: therefore in the temple, that is, in the court, the same animals, now slaughtered and cut up, had to be washed again by the priests from blood and dirt, so that they might be offered pure to God on the altar. Therefore the bronze sea was in the middle of the lavers, and had five lavers on the right, five on the left. So Ribera. Each laver held forty baths, as is said in verse 38. Josephus says the same in Rufinus's translation: for Gelenius wrongly substituted congii for baths.
FOUR CUBITS THE LENGTH OF EACH BASE, AND FOUR CUBITS THE WIDTH, AND THREE CUBITS THE HEIGHT. — The bases of the lavers were therefore square, being four cubits wide and equally long: therefore they were fused and joined together from four bronze panels connected to each other, and therefore the joints here, so that they would not be visible, were covered with various carvings, as follows:
Verse 28: The Work of the Bases Was Intercut
28. AND THE WORK OF THE BASES WAS INTERCUT; AND THERE WERE CARVINGS BETWEEN THE JOINTS.
Verse 29: Lions, Oxen, and Cherubim on the Bases
29. AND BETWEEN THE WREATHS AND THE INTERWEAVINGS WERE LIONS, AND OXEN, AND CHERUBIM; AND UPON THE JOINTS LIKEWISE ABOVE; AND BENEATH THE LIONS AND OXEN, AS IT WERE STRAPS OF BRONZE HANGING DOWN. — This passage is complex and difficult. Omitting the various explanations of various authors, let me briefly and clearly set forth the whole matter. Note first that "intercut work" is what protrudes, stands out, and is prominent between flat wooden, golden, or bronze panels that are smooth and as it were shaved, as in shells the heads of lions, men, and oxen stand out and are prominent. Hence the Hebrew is misgerat, that is, enclosures, or as Vatablus has it, projections. The Hebrews call "enclosures" the projecting and prominent carvings, because they as it were close and terminate the flat and smooth panel, namely the flat intermediate spaces of the panel. Hence our Translator calls this intercut work, that is, these carvings, "wreaths and interweavings," both because they were encircled with small crowns and flowers and other things woven and intertwined together, and because the carvings or sculpted images themselves are called crowns and adornments, that is, ornaments which crown and adorn the panel or object to which they are added. Therefore for all these the Hebrew has one word misgerat, which our Translator renders now as "intercut work," now as "carvings," now as "wreaths," now as "interweavings."
For some were in the fashion of a round crown, and others were intertwined with another figure and form, which were called "interweavings." These four words therefore here mean the same thing. However, by "interweavings" can be understood the joints themselves of the panels, as is in the Hebrew, so that the word derives from pleko, that is, I fold, arrange, bind, join: for between the joints of the panels were these carvings.
Note second, for "joints" the Hebrew is shelabbim, which Pagninus translates as "garments"; Marinus as "steps"; Vatablus as "projections"; but we should trust our Translator and the Septuagint, who consistently translate "joints," and the Chaldean, who translates "joinings." Hence Exodus 26:17, our Translator and others everywhere translate "mortises."
The Hebrew text word for word reads thus: And this is the work of the base: enclosures on them, and enclosures between the joints, and upon (that is, next to or between) the enclosures that were between the joints, lions, an ox, and cherubim. And upon (that is, next to or between) the joints thus above: and beneath the lions and oxen, couplings, work of descent. "Enclosures," as I said, he calls the carvings of lions, oxen, and cherubim, etc., which covered the joints of the bronze panels, so that they would not appear to be assembled, but would seem to be continuous, and produced from the same bronze, or so that they would appear to be not many panels, but one whole and solid panel. The meaning therefore is: Solomon carved on the bases of the ten lavers various carvings, so that with them he might cover the joints of the bronze panels; among which carvings the carvings of lions, oxen, and Cherubim were prominent. And so he made these carvings and images both between the upper and higher joints that were above, and between the lower ones that were below: and he added beneath the lions and oxen couplings, that is, certain straps coupled and connected together, hanging, that is, tending downward; for this is the "work of descent" that the Hebrew has. He fittingly carved these straps, because oxen and lions are usually tied and coupled with straps. So Ribera, book II, On the Temple, chapter 18.
Verse 30: Four Wheels for Each Base
30. AND FOUR WHEELS FOR EACH BASE, — that is to say, each base was set upon four wheels, so that they might seem to be able to be rolled and moved here and there.
AND AT THE FOUR CORNERS, AS IT WERE SMALL SHOULDERS BENEATH THE LAVER, CAST, FACING ONE ANOTHER, — that is to say, there were on the bases of the lavers certain projecting parts, by which, as by shoulders, the lavers were supported, cast from bronze, and turned toward one another.
Verse 31: The Mouth of the Laver
31. THE MOUTH OF THE LAVER ALSO WAS ON THE INSIDE, AT THE TOP OF THE CAPITAL, — that is to say, the mouth of the laver, that is, the upper part of the base itself, upon which the laver or basin of the laver was placed, was concave like a mouth, so that the laver, likewise concave, could be fittingly inserted into it, and it was at the top of the capital, that is, at the top of the base. For thus the author explains himself in verse 35.
AND WHAT APPEARED ON THE OUTSIDE WAS ONE CUBIT, ALL ROUND, AND LIKEWISE IT MEASURED ONE CUBIT AND A HALF. — Josephus explains this clearly, saying in book VIII, chapter 2: "In the part where the images of lions and eagles were, they were so fitted that you would think them natural, with small palm trees intervening between them. And this roundness had a cubit and a half in height, but the half cubit was covered with engravings, and only one cubit appeared."
AND AT THE CORNERS OF THE COLUMNS WERE VARIOUS ENGRAVINGS. — For, as Josephus says, since the panels of the bases were square, they had at the corners columns, that is, certain small columns for elegance, into which the sides of the bases were on both sides inserted and as it were mortised; and these had their own carvings with which they were adorned.
AND THE MIDDLE SPACES BETWEEN THE COLUMNS WERE SQUARE, NOT ROUND. — He calls "intercolumnia" the shafts or trunks of the bases themselves, which between the columns attached at the corners as it were intervened in the middle, meaning: The shaft of the bases itself was square, not round. The Hebrew and the Chaldean: The enclosures themselves, that is, the carvings, were square, not round. He calls the bases themselves, carved and fashioned, "enclosures" or "carvings."
AND SUCH WHEELS WERE, — that is to say, such were the wheels of the bases that they appeared to be able to be rolled and moved, though in reality they were fixed and could not be rolled: and therefore they had everything that true and rollable wheels have, namely their axles, spokes, rims, and hubs. A hub in a wheel is the knot itself or center of the wheel, from which the spokes arise, which are led from there to the rim, that is, to the outer periphery or circumference of the wheel.
Verse 35: Various Carvings from Itself
35. VARIOUS CARVINGS FROM ITSELF, — that is, not added on, but as it were inborn and together with it, so that they appeared to have been cast from the base itself.
Verse 36: He Carved Cherubim, Lions, and Palms
36. HE ALSO CARVED ON THOSE PANELS THAT WERE OF BRONZE, — that is to say, he carved upon the topmost panels of the bases images of lions, palms, etc. For he calls "panels of bronze" the bronze sheets themselves, joined together and paneled.
HE ALSO MADE TEN LAVERS. — Behold, these are the lavers whose bases he has described up to this point.
Verse 39: He Placed the Sea on the Right Side
39. AND HE PLACED THE (bronze) SEA ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE TEMPLE, FACING EAST TOWARD THE SOUTH, — that is to say, he placed the bronze sea toward the South, yet so that it was turned toward the East, meaning: it was not directly facing the South, but toward that part of the South which somewhat inclines and tends toward the East.
Finally, to the bronze sea and ten lavers for washing the victims, add from Aristeas, book On the Seventy Translators, after the beginning, that there were in the temple hidden water reservoirs, which were poured out to wash away the blood of the slaughtered sacrificial victims, whose flow is so constant, he says, that it seems like a perpetual fountain. And for this purpose there are near the base of the altar frequent openings known only to the ministers. But more wonderful is the almost indescribable size of the underground cisterns, which penetrate everything around the temple for up to five stadia. Lead pipes descend to them everywhere through the walls and floor of the temple, by which everything is washed and cleaned. I have also made mention of these things above.
Allegorically and tropologically, the ten lavers signify the same as the bronze sea, namely the manifold and abundant penance that we need in this fragile life because of our many falls and dangers of falling. The forty baths that each laver held signify the 40 days of Lent, which are all dedicated to penance. For the rest, see Eucherius, Angelomus, and Ribera, book II, On the Temple, chapter 19, who apply each detail minutely.
The first in this age to deny and abolish the sacrament of penance was Martin Luther, and therefore he was not a laver nor a washer, but muddy and miry, indeed a defiler and profaner of sacred things, since he was wholly indulging himself in his cups, his belly, and Venus, and with these befouling body and soul like "a washed sow in a wallow of mud," as St. Peter says, Epistle II, chapter 2, verse 22.
Verse 40: Hiram Made the Pots, Shovels, and Basins
40. SO HIRAM MADE THE POTS, AND THE SHOVELS, AND THE BASINS. — For "shovels" the Hebrew has ya'im, which the Chaldean and later authors translate as "brooms"; the Septuagint as "warming pans"; others translate as "forks, bowls; censers"; St. Jerome sometimes translates "shovels, tongs, tridents," sometimes "trowels and flesh-hooks." For Hebrew names are polysemous and signify many things. A scutra is a kind of deep and circular vessel, whose diminutive is scutella; therefore scutra is one thing, scruta another, although Calepinus takes these two for the same. For scruta are garments worn out by use, horseshoes, pulled-out nails, matches, fragments of glass, and other such things, which the cheapest brokers have for sale, whom they call scrutarii, such as we see the Jews at Rome, about whom Horace says, book II, Epistle 7:
"Selling cheap scraps to the tunic-clad rabble."
A scutra therefore, or scuta, is a large dish, so called from scutum (shield), because it is round and concave like a shield. Hence Lucilius, book VI, says: "He struck his brain with a small wooden scuta (dish)." And Papias: "A scutra, he says, is a bronze vessel with an even bottom, wide and open at the top." And Priscian, at the end of book III: "From scutum, he says, are derived scutula and scutella, as if small scuta or scutra." For scutra borrows the letter r "from scetra, which is a leather shield without wood, which the Africans and Mauritanians use," says Isidore, book XVIII of Etymologies, chapter 12, about which the Poet says: "A scetra covers the left hand." Moreover, in diminutives the simple r changes to l; thus from mitra the diminutive becomes mitella, from capra capella, from sacrum sacellum, from ager agellus, from piger pigellus, from miser misellus.
Basins, in Hebrew mizraqoth, are vessels for sprinkling or pouring, with which water, or wine, or incense is sprinkled and poured. For the root zaraq means to sprinkle, to asperse, such as are the cruets with which water and wine are sprinkled and poured into the chalice at Mass. The Septuagint translate "bowls"; the Chaldeans, "basins"; St. Jerome here, "basins," elsewhere "bowls," elsewhere "censers." Hear Columella:
"Or a basin fit for water, or a flask for Bacchus."
Verse 42: Pomegranates to Cover the Capitals
42. TO COVER THE CORDS OF THE CAPITALS. — He calls "cords" the circular spirals which, cut into the capital, encircled and adorned it in a ring.
Hence the Hebrew is gulloth ketoreth, that is, the convolutions of the crown; the Septuagint, turning ornaments; the Chaldean, round vessels of crowns; Vatablus, crowned globes. "The cords of the capitals" therefore he calls the middle capitals, because they had spirals and circles in the manner of a cord; for these are called in Hebrew gulloth ketoret, as if revolutions of the crown, or heads encircled by their spirals in a circle and crowned.
Verse 45: All the Vessels Were of Burnished Bronze
45. ALL THE VESSELS THAT HIRAM MADE (for other craftsmen fashioned the vessels of gold and silver, etc.) WERE OF ORICHALCUM. — In Hebrew, of bronze memorat, that is, polished and burnished, that is, the finest, as the Chaldean and the Septuagint translate, which is called orichalcum, because it glows and shines like gold. See what was said at Ezekiel 1:27, and Apocalypse 1:15.
Moreover, "Hiram," in 2 Paralipomenon 2:13, is called by the king of Tyre "my father," because the king honored him as a father on account of the excellence of his craft: for "father" among the Hebrews often means master, leader, chief, prefect. Thus Joseph was called "father" by Pharaoh, on account of the excellence of his prudence and foresight during the famine, Genesis 45:8. Thus 4 Kings 13:14, the king of Israel calls Elisha "father," because he revered him as a Prophet and master. Moreover, Josephus adds many other things to these vessels: first, he extends the number of golden tables, upon which various instruments were placed, to 10,000. Second: golden bowls and libation vessels 20,000, silver ones 40,000; candlesticks 40,000; wine pitchers 80,000; golden bowls 100,000, silver ones 200,000; golden platters 50,000, silver ones 160,000; golden mixing bowls 60,000, silver ones 120,000; golden measures of Moses, the Hin and the assaron, 20,000, silver ones 40,000; golden censers for burning incense 20,000, silver ones 40,000. And for carrying fire to the altar of holocausts, golden ones 50,000; hierarchical robes for the chief priests 10,000; for other priests 10,000; trumpets 20,000; musical instruments, harps and lyres of electrum 30,000.
Verse 48: The Golden Altar and the Table of Showbread
48. AND SOLOMON MADE ALL THE GOLDEN VESSELS IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD: THE GOLDEN ALTAR, etc., — namely the altar of incense in the Holy Place, before the Holy of Holies, about which I spoke at Exodus 30:1. From this it is clear that Solomon made a new altar of incense in the Holy Place in place of the old one fabricated by Moses, and stored that old one of Moses in the upper chamber of the Holy Place. For Solomon made all the vessels of the temple new, except the ark with the propitiatory and the cherubim; for in the ark was kept the law on stone tablets, written by the finger of God. Therefore he placed the ark made by Moses in the temple, and did not fabricate a new one; but everything else he renewed.
Hence follows:
Verse 49: Golden Candlesticks and Lamps
49. AND THE TABLE UPON WHICH THE SHOWBREAD WAS PLACED (he made a new one in place of the old one made by Moses), AND GOLDEN CANDLESTICKS, FIVE ON THE RIGHT AND FIVE ON THE LEFT. — Moses had made only one golden candlestick with seven branches, having seven stems and as many lamps; but Solomon fabricated five in place of this one. About this table of the bread and the candlestick I spoke at length at Exodus chapter 25, verses 23 and 31. Therefore I will not repeat them here.
TONGS, — that is, snuffers, say Abulensis and Vatablus. For a forceps is an instrument with which something hot is held, says Festus, which applies not only to tongs with which we tend the fire, but also to snuffers with which we catch and trim the ashes of lamps and candles.
Verse 50: Pitchers, Forks, Bowls, and Censers
50. MORTARS — are properly vessels in which things to be dissolved are ground with a pestle, says Nonius Marcellus. Hence St. Isidore, book IV of Etymologies, chapter 11: "Mortars, he says, are so called because in them seeds, reduced to powder and dead, are seasoned." But in this passage the Hebrew is caphoth, which word signifies small curved vessels (for caphaph means to curve) and concave, in which incense or frankincense or something of that kind is placed, so Vatablus and others; hence the Septuagint translate "bowls"; the Chaldean and Vatablus, "spoons." "Mortars" therefore are small mortars, and thus are called vessels that are curved and concave like mortars.
Verse 51: He Brought In What David Had Sanctified
51. WHICH DAVID HAD SANCTIFIED, — that is, which David had dedicated, designated, and as it were consecrated to God for the use of the temple. The Septuagint: Solomon brought in the holy things (in Hebrew and Chaldean, holinesses) of David his father. For those things which are dedicated to God are so holy that they are as it were holinesses themselves.
Note: In the temple nothing could be seen except marble, cedar, gold, and silver; so that you may learn that in a soul that is holy, religious, and dedicated to God, nothing should be found except what is pure, solid, and precious.